Ron Paul’s son detained at airport?

His spokeswoman says he was detained at an airport for refusing a pat-down

It was a rough travel day Monday for Sen. Rand Paul, who also happens to be the son of GOP presidential hopeful Rep. Ron Paul. Paul the younger was detained by officials at a Nashville airport after refusing to be patted down by security, his spokeswoman Moira Bagley tells HLN.

Here’s what happened: The Kentucky Republican senator set off an alarm when going through a scanner. Rather than go through a dreaded pat-down, he wanted to go through the full body scanner, his spokeswoman said. TSA officials said no.

“When an irregularity is found during the TSA screening process, it must be resolved prior to allowing a passenger to proceed to the secure area of the airport,” TSA spokesman Greg Soule said. “Passengers who refuse to complete the screening process cannot be granted access to the secure area in order to ensure the safety of others traveling.”

CNN senior congressional correspondent Dana Bash says a TSA official told her that Paul, a tea party fav and champion of limited government, was “not detained” and left the checkpoint willingly.

Paul was booked on another flight was re-screened without incident, Soule added.

Ron Paul’s campaign released the following statement:

“The police state in this country is growing out of control. One of the ultimate embodiments of this is the TSA that gropes and grabs our children, our seniors, and our loved ones and neighbors with disabilities. The TSA does all of this while doing nothing to keep us safe.

That is why my ‘Plan to Restore America,’ in additional to cutting $1 trillion dollars in federal spending in one year, eliminates the TSA.

We must restore the freedom and respect for liberty that once made American the greatest nation in human history. I am deeply committed to doing that as President of the United States.”